


Six months in hell, Six months free, that was the deal

by ABRB



Category: Greek and Roman Mythology
Genre: Alternate Universe - Greek Mythology, Alternate Universe - Mythology, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-28
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2018-09-20 09:30:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9485066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ABRB/pseuds/ABRB
Summary: The myth of Persephone and Hades is one we know well, and the tale was true, exept for one part, Persephone never had stokholm syndrome, and she never fell in love. Now after milenia of having to suffer in darkness, she is fighting back and will get the freedom she desires.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I've had this idea in my mind for a while, but I never got the courage to write it until now. If there are any mistakes please point them out to me, English is not my first language and I do occasionally mess up. Even if no-one ends up reading this I will try to update as much as I can, but please bear with me.

“Six months in hell, six months up here, that was the deal” Persephone grumbled out loud, running her hands through her autumn coloured hair.  
“Sure, when i was a child that seemed like a good idea! Only half a year didn’t seem that bad”  
she was getting more frustrated by the minute.  
“But i was young, only a few centuries old, i didn’t know it would be half of my existence in perpetual darkness!”  
She stopped moving and glared at her friend, reclining on the fern green sofa.  
“Well its not like you can back out now, you DID make a commitment” she said in her angelic voice.  
“Oh sweet dandelions, Aphrodite could you focus on not stating the obvious and giving me advice?!?” She exclaimed, visibly annoyed.  
“I tried to be a good queen, tried to love him and never even mentioned his obsession with the colour black, what am I supposed to do now?!?” 

Aphrodite leaned forward and stared at her friend, she had been going at this for a while now, and in all honesty she knew there was nothing either of them could do. She sighed “Well to start, black isn’t a colour Per, and we both know there is nothing to do except wait until spring”. 

Persephone dramatically fell onto the sofa next to Aphrodite, “Thats easy for you to say, you might have a husband that lives with gloom, but he literally gives you the freedom to do whatever-sorry whoever you want!” she knew it was hopeless but she couldn’t help but complain.  
Aphrodite stood up and began “I AM the goddess of love and..”, “a title appointed by mortals, its meaningless” Persephone interrupted; “but true none the less” she rolled her eyes, “so it was something he knew coming into the marriage, and anyway you did choose to stay with him”. 

Persephone shot her the most hate filled glare she could “you know I didn’t do that! I was hungry, I ate some food, I never knew their secret ingredient was future misery!”  
Aphrodite ran a hand through her gold hair, “In either case, the winter solstice is what? today? tomorrow?, instead of complaining and doing your yearly rant of how miserable you are, why don’t you just pack up your stuff and be ready?” 

Persephone rested her head on Aphrodite’s shoulder and chuckled “when did you become Athena?”  
Aphrodite rolled her eyes and stood up “come ooooooon, you know I'm going to visit”  
Persephone waved her hand through the air, making everything in her apartment, clothes, furniture, everything that wasn’t either attached to the building or in use flew into an already open suitcase.  
“there, all packed, are you happy now?” Persephone’s voice dipped with sarcasm 

Aphrodite played with her friends hair, wanting to ease her pain, but knowing there was little she could do. “When is-you know who-coming anyway?” she asked her friend, curiosity getting the better of her. Persephone stood up “5 minutes 28 seconds” she grumbled, Aphrodite's eyes widening in surprise, “I know it seems early, but what do you expect, the mortals never had a great time schedule!”. 

This time it was Aphrodites turn to pace up and down the room, “that short! but I thought we at least would have one more day together! How could I loose track of time that easily!” .  
Persephone watched her, flicking her wrist to make the last item, the sofa, go flying into the suitcase. “Well at first there was the blonde, then the Australian, and then that girl who you swore had natural hair whiter than the styx river. Then there was that frat boy that really got more than they bargained for trying to use that aphrodisiac on Aphrodite” Persephone listed off while she remembered all the fun they had had in the last couple of hours of her freedom. They both chuckled, their smiles never reaching their eyes. 

Then suddenly the temperature in the room dropped dramatically, Persephone looking away from her friends sight and bent down to reach her bag.  
Had had arrived


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It gets a lot worse before it gets better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay 17 hits in one day!!! I should really not be proud of this but hey, whoop whoop!

As he appeared, any sound nearby disappeared, almost as if he had absorbed it in his arrival, no words being uttered as he met Persephone's gaze.   
A long, ash cape draped from his shoulders evaporating before it hit the ground covered most of his body. His dark aura emanated off him, dampening any feelings of happiness, love and affection, any feeling whatsoever into nothing.   
He gave his wife a once over, sending cold shivers throughout her body, before raising a hand and snapping his fingers, causing the yellow sundress she was wearing, her last piece of sunshine, to become white. 

Persephone looked at her dress and sighed “Do we have to do this every time? You already rob me of my eternity, can’t I at least choose what I wear for that time?” She couldn’t get mad, couldn’t show emotion, every time she did he found a way to make her eternity more painful, to take away one of the few things that gave her joy down there. 

She remembered the first time she had snapped at him, it was near the first or second millennia, she couldn't even remember the cause of the argument but she could never forget what ensured. It took but a thought from him and all the strange but beautiful flowers that grew down there vanished as if they had never existed, even her powers never managed to make them return and she knew he would never give her that ‘luxury’ again. 

Hades ran a hand through his hair and rolled his eyes, “Do not make me out to be the villain in this scenario, I was just following the rules”, he had a sick grin on his face and it took everything both girls had not to slap it off  
Aphrodite stepped in front of Persephone, “rules you created” she snarled pressing his shoulder with her long finger. 

Persephone softly placed a hand on her friends shoulder “thanks for these last couple of months, visit alright?” she felt herself starting to choke up, but Aphrodite quickly wrapped her into a hug. “Don’t loose your colours down there Per” she murmured into her ear, Persephone squeezed her friend and let go, she didn’t want to see what would happen if she made him wait any longer.   
Before she could change her mind she picked up her bag and grabbed Hades’s already waiting hand.   
Just as quickly as he had appeared they were gone, leaving Aphrodite in the empty apartment. 

Aphrodite let out a frustrated scream, Per didn’t deserve it, she was pure light, pure colour, being trapped down there was like putting a plant into a sealed room without windows, correction it was exactly that!  
She plopped down into the floor, hugging her knees to the chest, “I’m supposed to be a god, but can’t do anything to rid my only friend from her misery”   
The gods had discussed this multiple times, Demeter and her the ones who usually created these arguments among the gods. Everyone in Olympus cared for Persephone and wanted to free her, but Hades was not a force to be reckoned with, and a deal had been struck, there was no way to break it.   
It wasn’t like they hadn’t tried, they had even gotten close once, they had managed to her out of the castle, but got caught before leaving his domain. They had only managed that, and this was only because she saw Hermes’s love for their caged flower, and managed to use it to their advantage, Persephone never saw this though, blissfully ignorant to his adoration of her. 

Whatever they tried, failed, it should have been a snap of their fingers, but Hades’s realm limited their powers, only the rulers of that realm had full control of their godly skills, well expect for the limitations created by Hades laws.

Aphrodite felt a sob rise in her but she didn’t stop it, in a few seconds she was shaking, there was nothing she could do, there was nothing anyone could do. That sense of uselessness, especially for a god, was engulfing, leaving her with nothing but sorrow and misery, in the now cold floor.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! 47 hits and 1 kudos! someone outthere appreciates my writting!  
> As meaningless as it probably is compared to how many hits and kudos others get, i really appreaciate it KC_Chantelle !

If you thought hell would be all fire and brimstone, you would be very wrong, in reality its a desert, populated with dead trees, a couple of rivers and creatures you should probably stay away from, as well as souls going about, walking aimlessly.  
In the middle of all this despair, there is a stone castle rising from underneath the sand, It had smooth black walls, dotted with the occasional white window or balcony, the only way to truly describe it would be hauntingly beautiful. But the most surprising thing of this world is the lack of smell. No matter what is created or brought in, everything is robbed of its odour the second it enters.  
And even after millennia of living there, the odourlessness of this world still took Persephone by surprise.  
“You would think i would get used to it” she muttered as she quickly released her grip on her husband’s hand.

Ignoring her remark, Hades walked past her at a brisk pace, only stopping when he noticed she wasn’t following him, “We have work to do, so do the universe a favour and don’t slow me down” 

“Honestly It’s like every time I see you your voice becomes less emotionless” she replied hurrying to catch up 

“Drop your toys off in your room, I shall see you in the throne room” he glared, resuming his previous pace

Persephone stopped walking and spoke with venom, “They are not toys, they are a part of my life that you steal from me every year!”

Before she could blink he had her pinned against the wall, grabbing her by the throat, “would you like to loose that privilege as well?” he hissed  
He let go and dropping her onto the floor, she rubbed her neck as it quickly healed, she might not be able to die, but he could still hurt her, and he was fully aware of that fact. 

She waited for him to walk away before snapping her fingers and appearing outside the door to her room. The door had been carved for her as a wedding gift, a field of sunflowers, enchanted to make it seem as if they were real, meant to be a slice of home it had become a glaring reminder of what had been robbed of her. She entered only to find one of the many ‘helpers’ cleaning the room, these were humanoid creatures which Hades had created to serve them. They would go about their set tasks, but would do anything commanded of them, a fact which she had seen her husband take full advantage of. 

Letting out a long sigh, she put her suitcase at the foot of her bed and looked around, nothing had changed. Her room was large, but had scarcely anything in it, a white canopy bed, a matching desk, with a furry white carpet placed on the black floor. She plopped down on he bed and stared out the window, a white desert accompanied with a starless black sky. The ‘helper’ lifted the suitcase and placed it the closet, before leaving the room.  
Persephone hoisted herself up, she couldn’t postpone him forever. She went to the bathroom and splashed some water on her face, before heading out of the room and walking to the throne room. She knew it would take longer this way, but every second was an extra moment of being alone.

The queen of the underworld trailed down the corridors, with their black marble walls and infinite white carpet. She walked past multiple ‘helpers’ going about their duties, tending to whatever was needed at that moment. Before long she was facing the doors leading to the throne room, she touched the wooden entryway and took a breath before opening them and walking inside. 

Hades was already sat in his dark crystal throne, absentmindedly staring at the girl in front of him, who looked like she was anxious to speak, just as Persephone sat in her white crystal throne she blurted out the message “They seek a meeting with you”.  
Persephone turned to look at Hades just before he flicked her wrist and sent her flying a couple of feet, “you will speak when spoken too”.  
She must have been new at this, all the others knew the proper routine when it came to dealing with him. Persephone raised an eyebrow, she looked a lot younger than the rest, barely a woman, why had they sent her? this could only lead to trouble.  
The girl stood up and walked back to where she had been standing, this time looking more scared than anxious. 

“Now state your name and purpose for coming here” a predatory smile dominating Hades’s face as he spoke, his voice echoing loud in the room. 

“My name is Hagne, and I come from the Erinyes with a message” 

“What message?” Hades replied, his smile only becoming wider

“They ask to speak with you, they say it is something of great importance, something they can only say in person” Her voice was loosing its fear and becoming clear, she was braver than Persephone had previously thought. 

Hades snapped his finger and a ‘helper’ appeared, “Open a communication with the Erinyes” he commanded, his eyes never moving from Hagne. 

The ‘helper’ quickly grabbed both a knife and crystal from a small bag, slicing her palm she quickly allowed a few drops to hit the crystal. As soon as it started to glow she placed it on the floor in next to Hagne and stepped back into a corridor. 

Soon enough the crystal created a window just a few feet above it, letting them see the three Erinyes conferring. As soon as they realised they were being watched they quickly halted their conversation, but before they could speak, Hades interrupted them. “You cannot command my attention whenever you please, but as I am feeling generous, I will excuse this grave insult on the condition that I get to keep Hagne until we meet, lets say a week or two from now, i’ll send the exact time at a later date. Till then.” Before the Erinyes could even voice the complaints that were clearly there, Hades snapped his fingers and severed the communication.  
 Hades stood up and briskly walked towards Hagne, placed a hand on her shoulder and transported somewhere else, leaving Persephone alone to be haunted by Hagne’s terrified expression.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! first comment AND 79 hits!? So happy!!! Thank you KC_Chantelle for reading my story!

Persephone flew of the throne ready to track Hades down but was quickly stopped by a ‘helper’.  
“There are still multiple appointments today my lady” She spoke  
She shot her a glare   
“postpone them”

Persephone closed her eyes and concentrated, focusing on her connection to the underworld, pinpointing her husbands location in the castle. She had to hurry, down here he could slow time, bend the laws of the universe, anything he wanted, and there was no doubt he would use it.  
She shivered at the thoughts creeping in, but focused and found him, snapping her fingers as fast as she had his location. 

Persephone swung the door open the second it appeared before her, only to find Hagne sitting calmly in a chair while Hades stood only a few feet away with his arms crossed. 

“What did he do to you?” She exclaimed rushing forward to check Hagne for any injuries, looking in her green eyes, “How much time passed?” she whispered 

“A week-maybe two, I don’t know-It felt like it was forever-but no time at all at the same time”. Persephone embraced her into a hug while glaring at Hades, “what did you do to her?” she whispered sharply. 

“oh darling, were you jealous?, you only had to ask if you wanted to join in” a smug smile dominating his face as he leaned into a wall 

Persephone could feel the hatred for him grow as he cooly brushed the question off

Interrupting the tension Hange started to speak, “he didn’t force me to do anything” but Hades quickly cut her off “I said I would do anything she asked me to do”

“then why didn’t you let her go?” Persephone moved to stand right in front of Hades 

“Because she didn’t ask me to” He curtly responded

Confused, Persephone took a step back and faced Hagne “but why?”

Now it was Hagnes turn to stand “I am one of the Erinyes’s daughters, I have lived all my life in their grasp, and even though he keeps pushing me-tempting me to ask for more, Its my choice now, i can decide, and thats more freedom that I have ever gotten.”

Persephone placed a hand to her forehead, trying to calm down-explain the situation rationally, “I have been trapped down here with him for half of my eternity, trust me when I say that what he will offer you will never be freedom”

Hagne put an arm on Persephone’s shoulder “Your cage is one with a locked door and a timer, mine is one with the door swung open and all the time in the world, just because our captor is the same does not mean we share the same cage” 

Persephone stared at Hagne for a moment, looking for any signs of distress, anything that could prove to her that she had been affected. When she found none she sighed and walked out of the room, she knew that Hagne was right but couldn’t see Hades as anything more than a villain.

She leaned back on a wall to try to process, but was quickly disturbed by a movement in the corner of her eye

“While she was right, there was one thing she forgot to add.” Hades paused and looked at her closely, “When it comes to her I enjoy seeing her purity fade, but for you” he leaned in closer “I just like to watch you suffer.” In a blink of an eye he had disappeared, leaving Persephone with her own thoughts.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late post-lots of work I had to finish up and it took longer than I thought. Thanks so much to Alixe_Cung for the kudos and a very big thanks to Agonycore for the bookmark!

Persephone closed her eyes, she had been staring out her window for a while now, simply processing what she had just heard. 

“Are you alright Per?” A silky voice asked from behind 

Persephone turned around only to find Aphrodite behind her. “Dite! It’s so nice to see you!” She exclaimed embracing her, “Wait” she pulled away, “How did you get here? Why did you come?”.  
Aphrodite looked at her curiously “You called me almost a day ago and asked me to come down here” her eyebrows furrowed, “so I came down with Hermes when he brought some souls down”. 

Persephone placed a hand on her forehead, “I did? Im sorry I’ve been out of it for a bit”, she rubbed her eyes “some.. stuff has happened” 

Aphrodite motioned for them to sit on the bed and Persephone followed, “You know you can talk to me. What happened?”.

“The Erinyes sent a messenger-a young girl called Hagne, she said she was their daughter-and Hades is keeping her”

“Keeping her?” Aphrodite’s blood was starting to boil

“Well she's staying by choice, It’s hard to explain.” When she finally finished her explanation Aphrodite was left speechless. 

“Aren’t you going to say anything?” Persephone mumbled out 

“What do you want me to say?! He's not acting like a monster to this girl, he's actually helping her in a way? But he's still torturing you?!” Aphrodite exclaimed

“I know! and all in all I feel like he's trying to trick her but I don’t know if that just my thoughts of him clouding my judgement” Persephone lied down on the bed staring at her ceiling 

“Well you are the person who knows him best, even though the bar is pretty low in that part” Aphrodite grumbled 

Persephone started chuckling but she soon started laughing with laughter “You always now how to make people feel good” 

“In more ways than one” Aphrodite said soon joining her friend in the laugh.

“I wish you could visit more” grumbled Persephone while she played with her friends golden locks

“You and me both per, but you know we can’t risk Hades sensing too much of my energy” 

“I just had to befriend the goddess of love” 

Aphrodite rolled her eyes “I’m surprised he can feel at least THAT” 

Persephone sighed and sat up “How much longer do we have?” 

“Honestly i should have left half an hour ago but you were very heated with you rant on how he’s an emotionless bastard and I didn’t want to interrupt” Aphrodite said while stroking her friends hair

Persephone stood up “Lets go find Hermes then, It would be nice to say hi without Satan breathing down my neck”

Aphrodite chuckled as she stood up “I remember the first time I called him that, you went on and on about how we needed to give him a fair shot”

“That was literally millennia ago, he has had more chances than all the souls in this hell” Persephone held out her hand for her friend 

Aphrodite took it and they instantly appeared in front of Hermes

Persephone gave him a once-over, golden hair with eyes to match, chiseled cheekbones toped off with a form fitting shirt and a pair of jeans, she could easily imagine falling for him but she was married, even if it didn’t mean anything to her husband. 

He wrapped her into a hug “I missed you petal, wouldn’t hurt you to visit me up there”   
Persephone felt her eyes well up “missed you too sunny, I would have visited but I was avoiding mother dearest for a while” 

Hermes reluctantly let go “I have news-good news-I can’t tell it to you now, but I promise things are going to get a little better in a while, but for now I have to make sure this gal gets home safely, I’ll be back later, ok?” 

Persephone gave him a small smile and nodded, “thank you” she put an arm on his shoulder and nodded towards Aphrodite, “Visit soon”. Aphrodite smiled back before grabbing Hermes’s hand and disappearing.

The queen of the underworld looked around the empty room and headed out, walking towards the kitchen, gods barely had to eat but the whole process of it was comforting.

When she entered the kitchen she found Hagne already there, eating a hearty meal. 

“Hagne!… I didn’t know you were here… I’ll leave” 

“No! wait! please stay, I need to speak with you about something” Hagne said motioning for her to sit

“um sure, what can I help you with?” Persephone asked taking the seat opposite to her.

“I’ve been sleeping with your husband for the last couple of months, I knew it was wrong but I caved and It was so good and I couldn’t help myself and It was like an addiction I always wanted more-needed more, I’m so so so sorry, If you wish to punish me-send me back to the Erinyes I understand-but you need to know I…” the words flowed out of Hagne, leaving her in tears

“Hagne… I…” Persephone started but quickly fell into laughter 

Hagne stared at her with a mix of curiosity and surprise 

“Hades and I haven’t been monogamously together since well our wedding night, he is not one to stay in one persons bed and after living with him for so long I’ve actually come to despise him. Honestly I didn’t even know he had kept you there for so long, It seems that I am the one who owes you an apology” Persephone said placing an arm on Hagne’s shoulder 

“But-I-what?” 

“It’s fine, I’m just glad he has a distraction for the time being, I don’t like that you have to be his toy but If he had your consent thats better than In the past” Persephone's eyes lowered to the ground, realising that this had become normality now.

“He isn’t like that” Hagne whispered

“Im sorry?” Persephone asked

“You are wrong about him, he may not be an angel but he would never force someone to do something they didn’t want” Hagne exclaimed, becoming visibly distressed.

“What?” Persephone was only getting more confused but before she could ask anything Hades appeared in front of them. After looking at the both of them he spoke “I do believe It is time for us to leave my dear” holding his hand out for his lover.  
Hagne took it, but before she disappeared she gave Persephone a glare of determination.


End file.
